Cable guide means



Jan. 3, 1967 J. H, FOWLER 3,295,832

CABLE GUIDE MEANS Filed Oct. `1.8. 1965 Job/7 f7. fo w/ef" l NVENTR.

BY TQM w8 MMM ATTQRNEV United States Patent() 3,295,832 CABLE GUIDE IVIEANS` f .lohn H. Fowler, Houston, Tex., aisignor to Rockwell Manufacturing Company, Houston, Tex., a corporation of Pennsylvania f Filed Oct. 18, 11965, Ser. No. 497,429 9 Claims. (Cl. 254;-190) This invention relates to improved guide means, and particularly to improved cable guide means used in conjunction `with underwater drilling and exploration.

It is oftentimes desirable, when engaged in underwater drilling operations, to have a ready means of lowering equipment from a surface vessel to the well head on the floor of the ocean or other body of water. Usually cables extend therebetween. Guide means have been provided that have the tool or equipment attached thereto, said guide means having a cable inserted therein and sliding down the cable to the proper location. Problems arising stem from the necessity of having the cable easily insertable within the guide means combined with the requirement that the guide means must then be locked around the cable. Therefore this invention has as its prime object the provision of improved means for guiding equipment down along a cable to position such equipment where needed.

A further object is the provision of a device capable of having a cable readily inserted therein and once such cable is so inserted, having further means for prohibiting said cable from escaping the confines of the device,

A further object is the provision of a guide means which may be removed from the cable as desired.

Still another object is the provision of a cable guide which is economical of manufacture, yet sturdy enough to permit use in underwater operation. Further objects and uses lwill become obvious on considering the following description and claims in which:

FIGURE l is a perspective of the guide in place;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical section through the guide along 2-2 of FIGURE 1 and FIGURE 3 is a sectionalized view taken along 3 3 of FIGURE 2.

Previous attempts have utilized hinged members which may be clamped or screwed together at these ends opposite the hinge. This device permits ease of installation in that the respective pieces may be snap-fitted together.

Looking first at FIGURE l, guide means, generally represented as 10, is shown to be afiixed by means of a linking plate 11 to a member indicated at 12. This mernber may be any tool, item of equipment such as required for completion or operation as may be required at the well head or positionable at the subsurface.

Guide means includes three principal portions. Centrally disposed is cylindrically configured body member 20. It is this member which is directly aixed, as by welding for example, to spacer plate 11, which in turn is secured to member 12. Said body portion is shown to be verticaly slotted at 21 along its length. On either end of body are afiixed funnel portions 22, 23. Said upper and lower funnel portions are substantially identically configured and thereby interchangeable. They include skirt portions 24 merging into outwardly flaring caps 25. Said skirts and caps are also vertically slotted, as at 26, which renders said funnel portion capable of being snapfit onto body member 2d as hereinafter described. The inner surface of skirts 24 each possess `an annular recess 28 forming shoulders 29, 31. Intermediate shoulders 29 and the adjacent end of the skirt, a lip (not numbered) is defined that fits within a hereinafter discussed recess 30 in the body portion. For mating purposes, body portion 3,295,832 Patented Jan. 3, 1967 or indent 32 arcuately spaced from slot 26. Funnels 22, 23, having sufficient resilien-cy by virtue of cutout or slot 26, may be snap-fitted on body member 20 wherein lip 34 of body 2f) fits within skirt recess 28v and being limited by shouldersr29, 31. After -cable 40 is placed interior of device. 10 by virtue of initially aligned Slotsl 21, 26, the funnel means may be rotated suliiciently to cause spring means 32 tocxtend within body slot 21 therebypositioning said funnel'portions relative to said body member and blocking cable 40 rfrom exiting, said device 10 then being ca-pable of sliding along cable 40. 1

Inoperation cable 40, extending throughout the length of guide 10, may be passed therethrough while the funnel porti-on slots are aligned with the slot contained by body 20. On rotating said funnels, radial movement of said cable relative to said guide 10, is limited to the diameter of the bore through said body 20, thus, while vertical motion of said cable is not restricted, it is accurately positioned radially from the member 12. In other Words, whatever piece of equipment need be transported may slide alongside cable 40 spaced therefrom by the dimensions of plate 11.

While previous attempts to so attach lowered members to a cable by virtue of hinged members which may be clamped or screwed together at their ends opposite the hinge, such methods do not permit the ease of installation of this invention.

While a single embodiment has been described it must be apparent that numerous modifications would be possible by yone skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of this invention, the scope of which is 4intended to be limited only by the following appended claims:

I claim:

1. In a device for sliding down a cable, the combination of:

an apertured cable guide portion, said portions aperture substantially exceeding said cables diameter to permit free sliding movement between the cable and the guide portion;

means for blocking lateral escape of a cable through said apertured portion; and

means for positioning said guide port-ion radially outward of a descending tool means.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein said blocking means includes an end piece having an annular groove for receiving an annular lip in said yguide portion and rotatable with respect to said guide portion and said end piece being apertured in a direction parallel with said cable aperture when said end piece is fixed with respect to said guide portion.

3. The device of claim 2 wherein one of said end pieces is affixed to either end of said guide portion.

4. The device of claim 2 wherein said end piece includes spring biased means arcuately spaced from said end piece aperture and adapted to enter into said guide aperture, thereby limiting annular motion of said end piece with respect to said guide.

5. In a positioning device the combination of:

means for afiixing a guide to a cable;

a guide having a body portion slotted along one wall thereof and an annular lip near one end thereof, end pieces each having slots coiinear with said body slots when said end pieces are in one position relative to said body and means for rotating said end pieces, said rotating means including an annular groove in said end pieces for receiving said annular lip whereby said body slot is partially covered by portions of said end pieces.

6. The combination of claim 5 wherein said rotating means further includes annular grooves at opposite ends of said body and a cooperating annular lip on said end 7. The combination of claim 6'wherein said end pieces further include spring means spaced apart from said end piece slots for annularly positioning said end piece apertures relative to Said body aperture.

8. The combination of claim 6 wherein said end pieces are sufficiently resilient to be snapped on the ends of said body member.

9. In a device for lowering a piece of equipment alongside a cable, the combination of a body member having a continuous aperture along one wall and an annular ygroove at one end of said body member;

an end piece having a continuous aperture along one Wall and a lip portion adapted to enter said groove;

said end piece being sufciently resilient for permitting said end piece to be snapped onto one end of said body member and rotated relative to said body member and spring biased means spaced from said end piece aperture to x said end piece relative to vsaid body member in such a manner that said end piece aperture is not colinear with said body member -aperture; and

means associated with said body member for Connectin g said device to a piece of equipment.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 15 EVN C. BLUNK, Primary Examiner.

H. C. HORNSBY, Assistant Examiner, 

1. IN A DEVICE FOR SLIDING DOWN A CABLE, THE COMBINATION OF: AN APERTURED CABLE GUIDE PORTION, SAID PORTION''S APERTURE SUBSTANTIALLY EXCEEDING SAID CABLE''S DIAMETER TO PERMIT FREE SLIDING MOVEMENT BETWEEN THE CABLE AND THE GUIDE PORTION; MEANS FOR BLOCKING LATERAL ESCAPE OF A CABLE THROUGH SAID APERTURED PORTION; AND MEANS FOR POSITIONING SAID GUIDE PORTION RADIALLY OUTWARD OF A DESCENDING TOOL MEANS. 